Belt Ornament (918–1392): Art, History and Details

Belt Ornament (918–1392) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Metallurgy advanced remarkably in the Goryeo period (918-1392), explaining why a large quantity of sophisticated metal artifacts with delicate designs were used not only as daily accessories but also as burial goods. Belt ornaments like this example were fixed to leather belts.

Object facts

• Title: Belt Ornament
• Date: 918–1392
• Culture: Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
• Type: Metalwork
• Technique: bronze gilt
• Dimensions: Overall: 4 x 4.6 x 0.7 cm (1 9/16 x 1 13/16 x 1/4 in.)
• Collection: Korean Art
• Department: Korean Art
• Accession number: 1917.1051.1

A detail from the museum

The Japanese antique dealer Yamanaka & Company, which opened its branches in New York (1895) and Boston (1899) sold small Korean archaeological materials such as this belt ornament to American collectors in the early 20th century.

Collection credit

Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust

Further reading listed by the museum

• Goryeo Dynasty: Korea's Age of Enlightenment, 918-1392. San Francisco: Asian Art Museum, 2003.
• Kim, Jae-yul. "Review on Burial Aspect of Belt Ornaments excavated from Tombs in Gyeongju during the Epoch of the Three Kingdoms [삼국시대 경주지역 고분 출토 대금구의 부장양상 검토]." Sillasahakpo 32 (December 2014): 263-305.
• Kim, Kyuho. “Samgukshidae kobun ch'ult'o kŭm, ŭn, kŭmdong chep'umŭi t'ŭksŏng koch'al [삼국시대고분출토금, 은, 금동제품의특성고찰].” Samguk sidae kukka ŭi sŏngjang kwa mulchil munhwa [삼국시대국가의성장과물질문화]. Sŏngnam: Han'gukhak Chungang Yŏn'guwŏn Ch'ulp'anbu, 2015: 234-247.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.